PAW PAW, MI -- A new
phone scam in Van Buren County impersonating police attempts to induce people to pay money to avoid arrest.

Michigan State PoliceMLive file photo

Residents have reported getting calls from a person claiming to be from
the Michigan State Police, according to a news release from the MSP Paw Paw Post. The caller claims that the resident has a warrant
out for him or her and must pay a fine to avoid being arrested.

In reality, they would never call someone to
notify them of a warrant and ask for money, state police
said.

Most phone scams involve a sense of urgency from someone
posing as a member of a legitimate organization, according to Michigan State Police, who offer the following tips to avoid being
scammed:

Don't give personal information over the phone
to people you don't know.

Confirm the contact's identity by independently
speaking with the legitimate organization they caller says they represent.

Call police with suspicious contacts' information

Don't respond to unsolicited emails from people
you don't know.

Get the caller's name and phone number and
confirm their information with a phone book or another independent source.

Erin
Gignac covers general assignment stories for MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette. Email her
at egignac@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter